Larry Bowa

We knew the Rays' baseball history wasn't filled with highlights, but Lou Piniella dying his hair blond after a three-game win streak in 2003 made the Orlando Sentinel's top five. Red Sox fans have to think the time will come, but Joe Torre's bench coach in L.A., the fiery Larry Bowa, says of Manny Ramirez: "I know he's playing for a contract, but he's been incredible. . . . He hasn't been 'Manny being Manny.' I mean, he hasn't done anything to make you say, 'Oh, God.'

- Brad Penny pitched to live hitters for the first time with the Red Sox Monday. And the only coach talking behind his back was the instructor feeding him the baseballs. Five months removed from the end of a dismal, injury-plagued season with the Dodgers and a week since their third base coach, Larry Bowa, criticized the righthander in no uncertain terms for a poor work ethic, Penny began the process of reclaiming his career and reputation. Penny, whose season ended in mid-September because of shoulder trouble, threw live batting practice at the player development complex and reported no setbacks.

While Joe Torre was watching Rondell White round into form at the Yankees minor league complex, his cellphone rang and he got word another outfielder, Shane Spencer, was hit on the left elbow in the game in Clearwater. This latest injury, though it appears minor, made the Yankees manager furious. When the Yankees played the Phillies Monday, Spencer took out Phillies second baseman Tomas Perez with a straight, hard slide into second base. Some of the Yankees coaches saw Phillies manager Larry Bowa glaring at Spencer as Perez was taken off on a stretcher, and they suggested leaving Spencer home Friday.

We knew the Rays' baseball history wasn't filled with highlights, but Lou Piniella dying his hair blond after a three-game win streak in 2003 made the Orlando Sentinel's top five. Red Sox fans have to think the time will come, but Joe Torre's bench coach in L.A., the fiery Larry Bowa, says of Manny Ramirez: "I know he's playing for a contract, but he's been incredible. . . . He hasn't been 'Manny being Manny.' I mean, he hasn't done anything to make you say, 'Oh, God.'

Larry Bowa was considered one of the ultimate Phillies. He played 11 seasons for them, and later coached and managed them. Who knew he had this secret desire to trade his red pinstripes for blue? "The New York Yankees is a little something different," said Bowa, who is poised to become the Yankees' third base coach next season. "When people talk about baseball, they're usually talking about one team." Bowa, fired by the Phillies last season, has spent this season working as an ESPN analyst, a job that landed him at Minute Maid Park during the World Series workout day Monday.

Little did anyone realize back in 1993 how long Joe Carter's World Series-winning home run for the Blue Jays off Mitch Williams would keep the Phillies on the canvas. They never seemed to overcome the blow, posting seven consecutive losing seasons and an average of 92 losses a year over the past five. Two managers, Jim Fregosi and Terry Francona, went by the wayside, and out of desperation last July, the franchise traded its most marketable player, pitcher Curt Schilling. That deal seemed to signal a rebuilding, but the Phillies have moved forward a lot more quickly than could have been anticipated.

Speculation was strong in Philadelphia that manager Larry Bowa could be on the outs. It has certainly been a rough time for Bowa, whose Phillies came off a sweep of the Mets at Shea Stadium but suffered one of the toughest losses of the season, 13-9 to the Red Sox, who scored six in the ninth, before a capacity crowd of more than 61,000 at Veterans Stadium. Talk around the Phillies is Bowa is widely disliked by his players, one of whom, Tyler Houston, was released despite leading the National League in pinch hits.

With right fielder Brian Jordan possibly out for the season because of a knee injury and center fielder Dave Roberts going on the disabled list last week because of a right hamstring tear, the Dodgers are in the market for an outfielder. They are said to have interest in the Rangers' Juan Gonzalez, who already vetoed a deal to the Expos. The Dodgers were holding out hope they could have lured third baseman Mike Lowell from Florida, but the Marlins said last week that Lowell was staying put. Since rejecting the Montreal deal, Gonzalez has spent much of his time on the Texas bench because of injuries and manager Buck Showalter's desire to use younger players.

When a Philadelphia-area newspaper ran a story about a survey of the Phillies clubhouse revealing that 22 of the 25 players did not like manager Larry Bowa, it raised eyebrows around the league. Most people were surprised as many as three players approved of Bowa, whose contentious nature hasn't changed much since his playing days. But nobody can quarrel about where the Phillies are, which is in a tight division race with the Braves. Bowa has turned out to be precisely what the Phillies, pushovers for so many years, needed.

Larry Bowa never visited Boston before Friday, but there was something familiar about the city. The intensity and high expections of the baseball fans reminded Bowa of Philadelphia, where he has spent most of his baseball life as a player and coach. "The East Coast fan is a rare breed," Bowa said. "They live and die with sports. I think the fans on the East Coast will never allow a player to take a shortcut. I like that kind of atmosphere. It drove me to excel as a player.

Larry Bowa was considered one of the ultimate Phillies. He played 11 seasons for them, and later coached and managed them. Who knew he had this secret desire to trade his red pinstripes for blue? "The New York Yankees is a little something different," said Bowa, who is poised to become the Yankees' third base coach next season. "When people talk about baseball, they're usually talking about one team." Bowa, fired by the Phillies last season, has spent this season working as an ESPN analyst, a job that landed him at Minute Maid Park during the World Series workout day Monday.

Speculation was strong in Philadelphia that manager Larry Bowa could be on the outs. It has certainly been a rough time for Bowa, whose Phillies came off a sweep of the Mets at Shea Stadium but suffered one of the toughest losses of the season, 13-9 to the Red Sox, who scored six in the ninth, before a capacity crowd of more than 61,000 at Veterans Stadium. Talk around the Phillies is Bowa is widely disliked by his players, one of whom, Tyler Houston, was released despite leading the National League in pinch hits.

With right fielder Brian Jordan possibly out for the season because of a knee injury and center fielder Dave Roberts going on the disabled list last week because of a right hamstring tear, the Dodgers are in the market for an outfielder. They are said to have interest in the Rangers' Juan Gonzalez, who already vetoed a deal to the Expos. The Dodgers were holding out hope they could have lured third baseman Mike Lowell from Florida, but the Marlins said last week that Lowell was staying put. Since rejecting the Montreal deal, Gonzalez has spent much of his time on the Texas bench because of injuries and manager Buck Showalter's desire to use younger players.

While Joe Torre was watching Rondell White round into form at the Yankees minor league complex, his cellphone rang and he got word another outfielder, Shane Spencer, was hit on the left elbow in the game in Clearwater. This latest injury, though it appears minor, made the Yankees manager furious. When the Yankees played the Phillies Monday, Spencer took out Phillies second baseman Tomas Perez with a straight, hard slide into second base. Some of the Yankees coaches saw Phillies manager Larry Bowa glaring at Spencer as Perez was taken off on a stretcher, and they suggested leaving Spencer home Friday.

It didn't bother Mariners manager Lou Piniella one bit that he lost his third base coach after the 2000 season. Piniella knew the moment he interviewed Larry Bowa for the position that he belonged in another dugout running his own team. Piniella encouraged Bowa to pursue the Phillies job, openly campaigned for him and was delighted to exchange congratulations Wednesday over their victories in the Manager of the Year voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. "What Larry did over there this year doesn't come as any surprise to me," Piniella said from his Tampa, Fla., home.

When a Philadelphia-area newspaper ran a story about a survey of the Phillies clubhouse revealing that 22 of the 25 players did not like manager Larry Bowa, it raised eyebrows around the league. Most people were surprised as many as three players approved of Bowa, whose contentious nature hasn't changed much since his playing days. But nobody can quarrel about where the Phillies are, which is in a tight division race with the Braves. Bowa has turned out to be precisely what the Phillies, pushovers for so many years, needed.

- Brad Penny pitched to live hitters for the first time with the Red Sox Monday. And the only coach talking behind his back was the instructor feeding him the baseballs. Five months removed from the end of a dismal, injury-plagued season with the Dodgers and a week since their third base coach, Larry Bowa, criticized the righthander in no uncertain terms for a poor work ethic, Penny began the process of reclaiming his career and reputation. Penny, whose season ended in mid-September because of shoulder trouble, threw live batting practice at the player development complex and reported no setbacks.

It didn't bother Mariners manager Lou Piniella one bit that he lost his third base coach after the 2000 season. Piniella knew the moment he interviewed Larry Bowa for the position that he belonged in another dugout running his own team. Piniella encouraged Bowa to pursue the Phillies job, openly campaigned for him and was delighted to exchange congratulations Wednesday over their victories in the Manager of the Year voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. "What Larry did over there this year doesn't come as any surprise to me," Piniella said from his Tampa, Fla., home.

Little did anyone realize back in 1993 how long Joe Carter's World Series-winning home run for the Blue Jays off Mitch Williams would keep the Phillies on the canvas. They never seemed to overcome the blow, posting seven consecutive losing seasons and an average of 92 losses a year over the past five. Two managers, Jim Fregosi and Terry Francona, went by the wayside, and out of desperation last July, the franchise traded its most marketable player, pitcher Curt Schilling. That deal seemed to signal a rebuilding, but the Phillies have moved forward a lot more quickly than could have been anticipated.

Larry Bowa never visited Boston before Friday, but there was something familiar about the city. The intensity and high expections of the baseball fans reminded Bowa of Philadelphia, where he has spent most of his baseball life as a player and coach. "The East Coast fan is a rare breed," Bowa said. "They live and die with sports. I think the fans on the East Coast will never allow a player to take a shortcut. I like that kind of atmosphere. It drove me to excel as a player.